Comparing the Casts: Star Trek

Mock all you want his macho swagger and “overly….nuanced…and staccatodelivery”, William Shatner helped to create one of the most enduring icons of American pop culture. Anybody cast in the role of Captain James T. Kirk would have a strike against him. So a lot of people will judge Chris Pine unfairly right off the bat, saying that there would be no way to compare to the original. But really, no one ever could.

On an acting front, Pine’s two major movie roles were as the likeable, if slightly nebbishy, romantic lead in the Lindsay Lohan vehicle, Just My Luck and as a skinhead, neo-Nazi assassin in Smokin’ Aces. Kirk falls well in between those two extremes, so Pine should pull the role off.

However, that being said, judging general appearance, Shatner fills the roguish hero role better. His Kirk seems to be the kind of guy who would steal your girlfriend without even intending to but would have you back in any fight. Pine has a frat boy quality that lends itself to the fact that he would start the fight to keep you occupied while he plies your girlfriend with alcohol. At least, that’s what I see.

Spock:

If there was a dead solid lock for looking like the original, Zachary Quinto is it. He is a squint and a thinning of the eyebrows away from Leonard Nimoy.

He also excels as the psychopathic mass murderer Sylar on the cult hit TV show Heroes. That role is a far cry from the cold, emotionless Spock we all know and love. But there is a certain aloofness in both roles that makes me think Quinto will do quite nicely as the Vulcan Science officer.

And the fact that Quinto is coming from one cultural phenomenon to another leads me to believe that he will avoid a pitfall that Nimoy suffered from–future typecasting.

Doctor Leonard McCoy:

I have to say, my favorite character in the original series was “Bones”. This was mainly due to the performance of DeForest Kelley. His portrayal of the irascible doctor was, to me, pitch perfect. Every time he argued with Spock you could tell it wasn’t out of hatred. And there is a reason why his trademark lines “It’s worse than that, he’s dead, Jim” and “I’m a doctor not a…” have been quoted so much. Karl Urban has big shoes to fill.

As for appearance, both actors have that weathered, world weary look, but Urban in a more “action hero” way.

Speaking of which, Urban’s movie output (Pathfinder, Doom, Chronicles of Riddick) lead to an interesting pre-judgment–this ship’s doctor might be tougher than the its captain. I mean, who would you rather beam down to a hostile planet with Romulans on your tail? Eomer from The Lord of the Rings or Lindsay Lohan’s bad luck boyfriend?

Montgomery “Scotty” Scott:

Simply put, Simon Pegg rocks. If you haven’t seen Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz yet, do so immediately. Not only are they two of the funniest movies of the past decade, they also show off Pegg’s comedic acting chops in two very different roles. Scotty had his fair share or “comic relief” moments and also dead serious moments as well. Pegg could do that very well.

This might be the rare occasion where the new actor might slightly, slightly better than the original. Or at least as good yet in a different way. Don’t get me wrong, James Doohan did a great job as Scotty. I’m just excited at what Pegg will bring to the role.

And besides, Pegg is from the United Kingdom. Sure, he hails from England and not Scotland, but that is closer to it than British Columbia (Doohan was born in that Canadian province, in Vancouver).

Nyota Uhura:

Everybody in the new cast has a hard time taking over characters that decades of fans have grown to love. But Zoe Saldana might have the toughest of all, because Uhura was one of the most socially important characters of the 1960’s.

Star Trek was supposedly Gene Roddenberry’s idyllic view of the future. At a time when civil rights were being fought for on the streets of America, his crew for the Enterprise came from diverse races, nationalities and countries and worked together as equals.

Nichelle Nichols played Uhura with intelligence, dignity and grace and served as a role model to both African-Americans and women. So much so that, as the story goes, when she was willing to quit the show she was talked out of it by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. So Saldana isn’t just stepping into a role, she’s stepping into a legacy.

Hikaru Sulu:

Original Sulu George Takei is Japanese-American. John Cho was born in South Korea. It should be interesting to see what, if anything, the movie creators do with Sulu’s nationality, as the name “Hikaru”, which Sulu got in the Star Trek novels, not the TV series, is of Japanese origin. In the old days, this wouldn’t matter, as Japanese actors played Chinese played Korean and vice versa. Even today this practice continues. We’ll see what road the movie takes.

Another pitfall Cho has to overcome is his resume. Known primarily for comedies (American Pie, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), many Trekkers might have reservations about his being cast. Genre fans are insistent that the things they love be treated seriously (remember the Michael Keaton as Batman controversy?). And while Star Trek does have its share of comedic moments, it is not a comedy.

Chekov was created for the show as an attempt to appeal to a new demographic—the teenage market. He was supposed to bring in the fans of the Beatles and the Monkees’ Davy Jones to the show. However, Walter Koenig was on the cusp of 30 when he took the role, and that faux-Beatles wig they gave him didn’t really fool anybody into thinking he was a teenager.

The movie producers have gone one better. Their Chekov, Anton Yelchin will actually be a teenager (19) when the movie comes out. Actually, the producers have gone two better. Yelchin was born in Russia, in Leningrad as a matter of fact. He immigrated here when he was only 6 months old, but he should have an advantage on the Chicago born Koenig when it comes to Chekov’s Russian accent.